Abide In Me
The collaborative Christian Ministry of
Wes Howard-Brook and Sue Ferguson Johnson
Calendar
Ongoing
The Gospel of John
Thursday mornings in Issaquah (80 6th Ave SE) 9:30-11:30 a.m.
Yearning for more in-depth Bible study than can be experienced in a limited-length series? Seeking to let God's Word find a home deep in your heart and in your life? Join us for our ongoing, living-room based, small group study of John's gospel. This is a rare opportunity to take our time and move as the Spirit guides rather than as the calendar dictates. Each gathering takes time for coffee and greetings; prayer in silence, in song and in word; and an expansive period in which we listen with our minds, hearts and bodies to each word, phrase and verse of the gospel.
Whether you can only join us once in a while or would like to come every week, consider taking a taste of this special way to be formed together in the Word.
Donation only. For more information, call 425-369-8735 or email.
Starting Fall 2011
"Come Out, My People!":
From
Exile to the Eve of Easter
10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Second Saturdays, November 12, 2011
- June 9, 2012
at
Abide in Me
80 6th Ave SE, Issaquah
We continue this year in our journey
through
Wes Howard-Brook’s recent book,
“Come Out, My People!:”
God’s Call Out of Empire In the Bible and Beyond.
The book
explores the “two religions” in the Hebrew Bible: not
“Judaism” and “Christianity,” but the “religion of empire”
and the “religion of creation,” as they compete for hearts
and minds of God’s people over the centuries. Jesus
enters this conflict during the
All are welcome to join this year's journey, regardless of whether you were part of last year's series. We will be exploring Part III: "From Exile to the Eve of Easter (see individual session descriptions below). This Saturday offering is like a series of monthly retreats, with a wide range of people of all ages coming from a variety of religious contexts.
We prepare for each session by sending an email to all participants with reflection questions designed to help you enter the month's texts and follow up each session with an email summary. The presentation portion is recorded and posted online in MP3 format in case you have to miss a session or want to listen again.
Each session follows this rhythm:
9:45: Gathering for coffee and greetings
10:00: Opening prayer and song
10:20: Reflections in triads and in the large group on the previous month's questions
10:45: Presentation on this month's theme by Sue and Wes, part one
11:15: Coffee/snack break
11:30: Presentation on this month's theme by Sue and Wes, part two
12:15: Potluck lunch
1:00: Regathering song and reflections on what "stuck" from the morning
1:20: Formational entry into this month's reflection questions
1:50: Individual silence and solitude
2:15: Small group sharing on this month's questions
2:40: Large group sharing from the small groups
2:50: Closing prayer and song
Join us as we shine the Light of Christ on the struggle of our ancestors in faith to hear God's Word and to do it!
Fee: $200 suggested for the entire series. However, no one is ever turned away for lack of money! You are welcome to pay in installments of whatever amount works best for you. You can pay by check (made out to "Wes Howard-Brook" or "Sue Ferguson Johnson") or by PayPal via the button at the bottom of this page.
Questions? Please email us.
Session 1: Fall of Jerusalem and
descent into
Babylon
How do we build a bridge out of exile? (COMP, ch. 14)
We begin our journey this year by reviewing the basic concepts that ground Come Out, My People!: the “religion of empire” and the “religion of creation” that have battled for the hearts, minds and lives of God’s people “from the beginning.” We’ll continue by exploring how the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel built bridges from Exile back to Jerusalem. How was Israel—and how are we—to leave “exile” behind without being stuck “on the bridge”?
Session 2: Envisioning a way out of exile, then and now
(COMP, ch. 15)
The experience of Exile led to deep reflection on what had gone wrong and what needed to be changed for God’s people to live in true shalom with God, each other and all creation. We’ll look at how the prophet we know as “Second Isaiah” offered a radical re-vision of the relationship between sin and Exile and at how Ezekiel’s re-visioning of Jerusalem sought to inspire the people to find God’s path out of Exile. How do we align ourselves with God’s vision rather than being conformed to an imperial vision?
Session 3: Cyrus the “messiah”:
Can empire truly speak in
God’s name?
(COMP, ch. 16 up to p. 264)
The Persians defeated Babylon and offered the exiles an imperially sponsored means to return to the Land and to rebuild Jerusalem. Was the Persian king Cyrus really YHWH’s “messiah”? We’ll look at how Ezra-Nehemiah presented the Persian rebuilding plan as YHWH’s will, and what the consequences are, then and now, for equating imperial voices with the Voice of God.
Session 4: Dissenting from the imperial vision:
Can we achieve social justice within empire? (COMP, ch. 16, p. 264
to end)
Several voices arise from among the returning exiles who dissent in various ways from the Ezra-Nehemiah vision, found in the texts of Third Isaiah, Leviticus and Chronicles. Yet all of these writers were among the elite who took the centrality of a restored Jerusalem as a “given.” We’ll consider how authentic worship of the Creator and justice for the people and the earth can be proclaimed and practiced within an imperial context.
Session 5: Royal wisdom: the cost of reducing “religion” to the
personal
(COMP, ch. 17)
In the fourth century BCE, Alexander the Great defeated Persia, resulting in a pair of Hellenistic monarchies struggling over control of Jerusalem and environs. We’ll look at how books like Proverbs and Ecclesiastes responded to this situation by withdrawing from the question of God’s will amid empire, substituting a narrow “wisdom” focused on personal integrity and prudence. How are we tempted to make the question of God’s will “too small”?
Session 6: The crisis under Seleucid oppression:
Can war ever be God’s response to violence and tyranny?
(COMP, ch. 18 up to p. 330)
By the end of the third century BCE, the Seleucid branch of the Hellenistic kingdoms had taken firm control over Jerusalem. One Seleucid king generated a terrible crisis for God’s people by making practice of torah and tradition illegal and subject to the death penalty. We’ll consider the Maccabees’ rebellion and the question of “just war” in the face of tyranny and oppression.
Session 7: Apocalyptic wisdom: Can we put our trust in dreams and visions? (COMP, ch. 18, 330 to end)
Not all of God’s people supported the Maccabees’ rebellion. We’ll explore how the book of Daniel offered a very different understanding of what was “really” going on under Seleucid oppression and a radically different prescription for how to be faithful in the crisis. Even more radical was the apocalyptic tradition contained within the noncanonical book we know as 1 Enoch. We’ll look at how Enoch’s Dream Visions and Daniel’s own visions present two different ways to understand God’s will amid the reign of “beasts.”
Session 8: Hasmoneans, Qumranians, Enochians, and Pharisees:
How do we call on Scripture to guide us into God’s reign? (COMP, ch.
19)
The Maccabees’ rebellion is “successful” in liberating Jerusalem from Seleucid oppression, but leads to further oppression from “our own” tyrants, the Hasmonean dynasty. We’ll conclude our journey with a survey of some of the many responses to this situation, each claiming to be grounded in an understanding of Scripture. This will prepare us to understand the context into which the Gospel of Jesus Christ was proclaimed, once the Romans had taken control of Jerusalem.